Nuclear industry chips in £4.3bn to Fylde economy

A new study shows the UK’s civil nuclear sector in the North West contributed £4.3bn to the UK economy last year - the equivalent to 2.7 per cent of all regional output.

The region, home to the Springfields nuclear fuel factory at Salwick, Sellafield, the National Nuclear Laboratory and Heysham power station, as well as Urenco, directly employs 28,435 people and supports a total of 57,400 jobs in the region, almost equivalent to total employment in Lancaster.

The study says each nuclear sector employee contributes an average of £96,600 in gross value added to the economy, 73 per cent higher than the UK average, reflecting the highly-skilled nature of the workforce.

The data by Oxford Economics is released as part of the NIA’s first Nuclear Activity Report which outlines the progress made across the sector in 2016.

Tom Greatrex, chief executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “The data shows the important role the UK’s civil nuclear sector plays in generating highly skilled and well paid jobs, making a significant contribution to the economy and supplying low carbon electricity to keep the lights on.”